Smile! Book - The Secret Science of Smiling

$1600$16.00

Save $4

“Dare to Be Different—Smile!”

There was only one person in the grocery aisle that day. I slowly progressed toward her with my cart, and our eyes met. As if I were meeting an old dear friend, I smiled broadly. She returned the gesture. We stood speechless in a timeless moment; then, unexplainably, but most naturally for old acquaintances, we hugged. When we released each other, her face pinked, as if she was embarrassed by her actions, and she quizzically asked, “Do I know you?” I replied, “I don’t think so.”

"We went our separate ways as if nothing had happened, but you would be wrong to conclude that."

It happened in a flash, but when you touch another’s heart, it lasts forever. I remember the first few lines of a poem by Dennis Waitley: “Is there anything more to life than this, a baby’s smile, a loved one’s kiss…”

"Whenever I see a bright-eyed baby smile, I see the joyous innocence that brightens even the sun’s rays."

When I see poor souls who have lost their smiles, it compels me to give them one of mine. Would you do the same? A smile isn’t worth much until you give it away. Seeds planted in the hearts of strangers who are long out of sight become flowers passed on to another.

"Once upon a time, there was an isolated village inhabited by two warlike clans."

They had fought bitterly for longer than any of the living could remember. They argued over secular beliefs; they argued over religious doctrines; they argued over histories none could remember. They had become a sad and serious people who were joined together by only one thing: in that arid landscape, there was little water except the one well they shared in common.

One day, a traveling stranger happened upon the village. He was suddenly confronted by the tribal elders, who demanded a reason for his visit. Smiling broadly, he replied, “I’m a sower of seeds that become happiness trees.”

“Happiness trees, you say?”

Objected one of the elders. “Look at this sandy soil. Can’t you see how dry it is? What would you expect to grow in this? Are you mad to come here? What kind of seeds do you have that can grow without water?”

The stranger pulled a small pouch from his pack and answered, “Certainly not without water will they grow.” Saying that, he threw the seeds into the village well.

“How dare you!”

shouted one elder. “Perhaps he has poisoned our water!” shouted another. “We must taste the water to make certain.” They all agreed. “But who will drink first?” “Make the stranger drink first!” shouted someone else.

“Here, let me show you,”

said the stranger as he lowered the bucket into the stone well. He lifted it back up and scooped water into his open palms, then drank, smiled broadly, and began to chuckle. Quickly, one after another, the villagers began testing the water. Then a strange thing happened.

"The village chief began to smile for the first time anyone could remember."

His smile broadened as he looked at his lifelong tribal adversary, who couldn’t help returning the smile. By now, it was contagious: everyone was smiling. They asked the stranger what the seeds were made of. The stranger explained, “The seeds are made of forgetfulness. When we forget about all the things that divide us, the whole world will smile!”

"It is said that nobody needs a smile as much as those who have none left to give."

If you’ve ever visited a foreign land where you didn’t know the language, you know that everyone knows the language of a smile. There is a certain electricity that is instantly felt when you smile.

"Do you want to test that?"

The next time you’re introduced to someone new, smile broadly and put your heart into your smile. Then, say silently to yourself, “I really like you.” When you do that, you’ll discover you’re not only smiling with your lips, but also with your eyes; they will emit magical sparkles of light. Those sparkles are the seeds that grow happiness trees, because in moments like these, differences are all forgotten.

"Remember, it takes just one little smile to make someone’s day."

It’s like life handing you a bouquet, and then all day long you give flowers to others. In fact, this is a really heartwarming thing to do. Go to your florist and get a huge bouquet, and give every one of those flowers away. Say to everyone you give a flower to, “I’m so in love with life today, I want to give this flower away.” They may think you odd, but that’s okay—dare to be different and smile.

"I say dare to be different, because the world can be filled with sadness for many people."

If you feel blue and make the decision to wear a happy smile, the change can be magical. As studies will suggest, it’s almost impossible to stay in a down mood when the corners of your mouth turn up.

"I don’t think there are any of us who have not felt the discouragement of broken dreams, lost love, illness, and those tragedies and challenges so common to our lives."

Have you ever been in a public meeting or business gathering where the tone was serious and somber, and then you spied that special someone who lit up the room with their smile? Could that special someone be you? Despite the gravity of the situations we may face, wearing an up or down expression is always a choice. Happy faces heal. So, will you dare to be different?

"In fact, I’m smiling this very moment, at the fact that you’ll be smiling too—that is, if I’ve done my job as the publisher of this uplifting book."

Have you ever noticed that when people watch the world news on television, there’s usually nothing to smile about? And think of this: The news is just about always made up of the same bad events happening to someone else. Now, what if you and I could get them to smile? Do you think those happy vibrations might just make someone’s life a little better?An unknown poet wrote, “Smiling is infectious, you can catch it like the flu. Someone smiled at me today, and I started smiling too.”

So, when Elan Sun Star asked us if we would consider publishing Smile, what he was really asking was if we could get the whole world smiling too. If you believe that the power of a smile can be transforming and that this book has merit, would you do us and the rest of our human family a small favor? You already know what I’m asking, don’t you? You can’t hide that smile—yep! Get everyone a copy of Smile!

Someone wrote this about a smile: “None are so rich that they can get along without it, and none so poor that they cannot be richer for its benefits.”

So, again I say, dare to be different and smile! Smile and you’ll enrich the lives of others. To enrich another’s life is to enrich your own. Bringing joy to another’s heart is the best way to bring peace to the world. What if you said to everyone you met, “I know something very good about you!” and then gave them a big broad smile?

"Every time you smile, you’re indeed planting a seed in the soil of the human heart."

Please help us to gather a harvest of human hearts and smiling faces. Together we can make the world a lot brighter, if we but dare to be different and smile.